Horse Training - a Quick Guide to Proper Horse Training
The best way to train anything is to start from the beginning. It’s hard to get a big dog and have it know everything that you want for it to know. But if you get it as a puppy you can raise it the exact way that you like and make sure that it knows every single thing that you want it to know. It’s the same with horses. If you start with your horse training with a colt you can make sure that it knows everything that you want it to know before it ever has a saddle on its back. That isn’t always possible but it’s nice when it can.
Horse training is something should start as a foal. You’re probably thinking about some of the horses that start off as two year olds without a hand ever being laid on them and they turned out fine. That’s true. But I would almost bet that even though they never had a hand laid on them their whole life, they’ve also never had a cruel hand laid on them. That’s different. If a horse is started with cruel treatment it will take a fair amount of kindness and patience to get it over that. With horse training you have to have the patience and affection to give it when needed but you also have to have the wisdom and care to be firm when necessary. Horse training is like training your kids. They will do what they want if you let them but you have to steer them in ways that are constructive and needed for a good relationship.
There is not a lot of horse training that you can do with a foal that includes a saddle but there is so much more that you can do. I like to start with the horse training as soon as possible. Teaching a foal to lead is the first I suggest. Making sure that they know you are a friend and not a foe should have already been established. To train a foal to lead you get a small foal halter and place it on them with a long lead. A long lead is good so that way you can take the excess lead and loop it around their rear (right below their tails but above their hocks) so that way when you pull on their halter it also applies a little pressure to their rear to let them know that it is time to step forward.
With horse training a colt you can’t just pull and pull until they come. You have to try the pull and release method. You tug until they take a step forward and then release them and repeat over and over with praise after a while. It is also good if you can do this with someone else leading their momma so that they really want to follow you.
You can also work on the horse training of your foal by desensitizing it to many of the things it will see when it’s old enough to be saddle trained. Take it for walks when you go trail riding on your horse, take the lead and gently move it around their feet and you can even take a feed sack or trash bag and rub it all over them to let them know that the weird sound is nothing to worry about. And mess with their heads. Literally. Mess with their ears, inside and out. Rub them as it actually is really relaxing to a horse.
Some might not be lucky enough to get a horse that they can raise from a foal all the way up to riding age to begin their horse training. You might get a horse that is three or four or even ten and hopefully broken in. These are only some of the few suggestions I have in horse training your foal. They will give you a good head start for when it gets old enough for that saddle.
Did you know that 90% of falls and horse related injuries result from an inexperienced rider? Don't let this happen to you. Take a few minutes to learn the essential horseback riding and horsetraining methods practiced by experts for generations which are guaranteed to improve your horse riding skills.
By: Clinton Lyons
About the Author:
Horse training is something should start as a foal. You’re probably thinking about some of the horses that start off as two year olds without a hand ever being laid on them and they turned out fine. That’s true. But I would almost bet that even though they never had a hand laid on them their whole life, they’ve also never had a cruel hand laid on them. That’s different. If a horse is started with cruel treatment it will take a fair amount of kindness and patience to get it over that. With horse training you have to have the patience and affection to give it when needed but you also have to have the wisdom and care to be firm when necessary. Horse training is like training your kids. They will do what they want if you let them but you have to steer them in ways that are constructive and needed for a good relationship.
There is not a lot of horse training that you can do with a foal that includes a saddle but there is so much more that you can do. I like to start with the horse training as soon as possible. Teaching a foal to lead is the first I suggest. Making sure that they know you are a friend and not a foe should have already been established. To train a foal to lead you get a small foal halter and place it on them with a long lead. A long lead is good so that way you can take the excess lead and loop it around their rear (right below their tails but above their hocks) so that way when you pull on their halter it also applies a little pressure to their rear to let them know that it is time to step forward.
With horse training a colt you can’t just pull and pull until they come. You have to try the pull and release method. You tug until they take a step forward and then release them and repeat over and over with praise after a while. It is also good if you can do this with someone else leading their momma so that they really want to follow you.
You can also work on the horse training of your foal by desensitizing it to many of the things it will see when it’s old enough to be saddle trained. Take it for walks when you go trail riding on your horse, take the lead and gently move it around their feet and you can even take a feed sack or trash bag and rub it all over them to let them know that the weird sound is nothing to worry about. And mess with their heads. Literally. Mess with their ears, inside and out. Rub them as it actually is really relaxing to a horse.
Some might not be lucky enough to get a horse that they can raise from a foal all the way up to riding age to begin their horse training. You might get a horse that is three or four or even ten and hopefully broken in. These are only some of the few suggestions I have in horse training your foal. They will give you a good head start for when it gets old enough for that saddle.
Did you know that 90% of falls and horse related injuries result from an inexperienced rider? Don't let this happen to you. Take a few minutes to learn the essential horseback riding and horsetraining methods practiced by experts for generations which are guaranteed to improve your horse riding skills.
By: Clinton Lyons
About the Author:
Clinton Lyons has been raising foals and horses for over 35 years. He is a professional horse trainer and expert horseback riding instructor. Visit his website to learn more about horse training and horseback riding here: http://www.horsetrainingranch.com